The rising popularity of newer qualifications in Scotland is a strong sign that Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) is working, education secretary Jenny Gilruth told education directors’ body ADES at its annual conference in Cumbernauld today.
Ms Gilruth made this point repeatedly then, when asked what education successes she would highlight when campaigning for the Scottish Parliament election next year, came up with two others: she flagged up the alternative approaches to funding established in the decade since the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) was started and the continuation of the long-established policy of not charging university tuition fees.
Ms Gilruth spoke of an “explosion in qualifications which are vocational, technical” - National Progression Awards, for example, have seen rapid growth in recent years.
‘Different pathways for young people’
Such trends, the education secretary argued, were “amazing” and a sign that “CfE is working, because it was always meant to be about different pathways for children and young people”.
When the annual Scottish Qualifications Authority results were published in August, the SQA reported that the total number of vocational and technical qualifications - which it described as “the skills-based awards that unlock training and career opportunities” - had reached over 100,000 for first time.
The education secretary also spoke once again about what she described as the need for a “reinvention of SAC”.
Despite the success of the Attainment Challenge, she said, more generally there was often “narrow interpretation of what we fund in education”. She said she wanted to explore the potential for drawing from other budgets, such as health, in a way that would benefit education.
Ms Gilruth brought up the mixed reaction to the recent decision to appoint an “independent professional adviser” (IPA) - former secondary head John Wilson - who, after a string of reports on the future of Scottish education in recent years, will produce another in 2026.
“You might not like it, you might think it threatens you,” said the education secretary, who advised ADES delegates that they should see it as “an opportunity”.
Delegates pushed back, however, and told Ms Gilruth that, while there were concerns about the IPA role, they did not feel threatened.
Ms Gilruth also hailed the advent of an independent inspectorate, saying that Education Scotland, which will now focus on curriculum, was previously “being pulled in far too many directions”.
Phone ban ‘no silver bullet’
The education secretary resisted the idea that she should back a blanket ban on mobile phones in schools, saying that this would require legislation and that a ban was no “silver bullet”.
She also acknowledged “real challenges in our schools in terms of behaviour”, and that lots of young people were “struggling”.
Ms Gilruth said she was “worried”, too, about staff who went through initial teacher education during Covid. She said she wanted a fresh look at the support they are given.
You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Vlog magazine on and on
